Heating apparatus



Jan. 9, 1940. B. GOERG HEATING APPARATUS Fild April 2o, 2 sheets-sheet 1lNvENToR fm1/4R0 606/96 L fw M,

Jan. 9, 1940. B. Gol-:RG

HEATING APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1938 2 sheets-sheet 2 IIIII Il.IIIII\\ x INVENTOR HP/mwa Gaf/P6 Patented Jan. 9, 1940 rATENTorrlctHEATING APPARATUS Bernard Goerg, Scarsdale, N. Y., assigner, by mesneassignments, to American Radiator &

Standard Sanitary Corporation, New York,-

ht-Y., a corporation of Delawarer Application April n 20,

9 Claims.

This invention relates to heating apparatus and more particularly toboiler furnaces of the type-which are used for heating buildings such,for example, as dwelling houses, stores, etc.

An object of my invention is to produce a boiler furnace'which is highlycompact and is very low in weight for its capacity, and one which iscapable of being'brought from an off-period in its operation Ato itsnormal operating capacity Within a relatively short period of' time.

A further object is to provide a boiler furnace of the above characterwhich is ellcient inoperation and one Whose manufacturing andinstallation cost compares favorably with prior boilers oi the samecapacity.

The, invention cons1sts in the novel construction and combination ofparts, to be more fully described hereinafter, and the novelty of whichwill be particularly pointed out` and ydistinctly claimed.

f In the accompanying drawings, to be taken as apart of thisspecication, I have fully and clear-- lyillustrated a preferredembodiment of my in- `vention, in which drawings- Fig. 1 is a verticalsectional view through a boil-x er `furnace constructed in accordancewith the .present invention, the View being taken on the.

surrounding, respectively, the combustion cham-v ber yI3 and drum I4 andconnecting the'gas-exit` of the chamber I3 `with a flue gas outlet l1,the

latter extending through the upper partI of the outer jacket II. Themain or general elements of thev furnace, just referred to, are allsymmetrically arranged` about a Vertical axis extending through thecenter of the furnace.

The firing chamber I2 is preferably located in lthe lower central partof the furnace and, in so far as certain of the broader aspects of myinvention are concerned, may bek of any suitable construction. In theform shown, the chamber I2 is advantageously of a unitary constructionand comprises an inner lining member 2t] of heatresistant steel formingthe bottom and side walls of the firing chamber, and having an opening2l 1938, Serial No. 203,033

in one side wall through which a fluid fuel burner 22 of any suitabletype may discharge fuel mixed with air. 'Ihe burner shown is an oilburner of the gun type. f To the exterior of the lining member 2d isapplied a suitable heat insulating material indicated at 23. The chamberI2 is open at the top as shown, and registerswith an opening 25 formedin the center of a supporting base plate ZB'arrang'ed horizontallyacross they inte- 4 rior of the furnace. The upper edge oi the liningmember 20 is provided with an integral ange 2 through whichv bolts 28extend and thereby rservefas a means for securing the upper edge ofthe'ring chamber. to the base plate 2d and about the opening 25. As thelining member 2d is formed of heat-resistant steel and is surroundedwith the insulating material 21%, a relatively high temperature may bemaintained in the chamber, which, as is well known, is conducive topositive ignition and eflicient combustion oi thefuel entering irom theburner `22.

The base supporting yplate 2% is suitably formed of heat-resistant steeland is supported in the position shown by a plurality of postsA 29extending downwardly therefrom and resting at their lowery ends 'on thebasement :foundationY The extremelower part of vthe. furnace lll isclosed -by av horizontally extending sheet-metal base member 30. Thebase member 3Q Iis secured ltothe lower part'of the posts 29 and aids insupporting the firing-chamber I2. y A"The combustion chamber I3 is hereshown as being arranged centrally over the opening 25 and as beingcylindrical in shape and extending upwardly from the base supportingplate. The f lower end of the combustion chamber communicates with thering chamber I2 through the opening 25. In so `far as certain of thebroader -aspects of 'my invention are concerned, the wallstructure,defining` the vertical cylindrical combustion chamber, `may beof any suitable type. In the preferred embodiment shown the 'chamber I3is dened by an upright cylindrical wall structure 35having lhollow waterspaces comi municatively connected to the steam and water drum I4. vThecylind'rical wall structure 35 of the combustion chamber is formedbya plurality'of rsu'- Iperposed helically Wound pipe coils 36`. The coils36 may be .made of a metal having a relatively high coeliicient "ofthermal conductivity, such for exan'iple,A as copper. v,Six coils 36 areshown, arranged one above the other, and each lof the coils is providedwith an inlet end y3l, which extends. tangentially` from thefcylindrcalformation of the wall structure 35 and is connected at its outer end toa vertically arranged downtake header 33 in the passage I5, and eachcoil 36 is also provided with an youtlet end 40 which also extendstangentially from the cylindrical portions of the wall structure 35 andis connected to a vertically arranged uptake header 4I adjacent theheader 39 in the passage I5. As shown in Figs. 1 and 3, each coil ishelically wound around the vertical axis of the furnace for almost 720;that is to say, beginning at the inlet end 37 of a given coil 36, thecoil extends completely around the funace once, and then around thefurnace again until it joins with the outlet header 4I. Adjacentconvolutions of a given coil and adjacent convolutions of adjacent coilsare arranged one above the other to provide the cylindrical wallstructure 35. Each of the coils is so wound and so connected into theheaders 39 and 4I that it continually slopes upward from where it joinsthe downtake header to the point where it joins the uptake header,thereby assuring the effective circulation of water in the boiler andthe passage of steam bubbles, as they are formed, through the coil, theuptake header 4I and to the drum I4.

The upper ends of the uptake and downtake headers 39 and 4I areconnected into the lower part of the drum I4. The upper end of thedowntake header is flush with the inside bottom surface of the drum, butthe upper end of the uptake or steam header extends partly into the drumin order to assume circulation of water in the right direction atstarting. The lower end of the uptake header is closed as shown, and thelower end of the downtake header is connected to the condensate returnpipe 43 of the steam heating system in the building where the furnace I6is installed.

The combustion chamber I3 is provided with a gas-exit opening 45 in itsside and at points adjacent the headers 38 and 4I, and the gas-exitopening 45 extends for the full height of the combustion chamber as canbe seen -from an examination of Fig. 1. Laterally, the opening 45extends from the point where the inlet ends 31 of the several coils 36leave the cylindrical formation of the wall structure 35 to the pointwhere the outlet ends leave the cylindrical formation. The wallstructure 35 is closed and continuous except at the opening 45. Thespaces between adjacent convolutions of the coils are closed by aplurality of steel bands' 4l which extend from one side edge of theopening and about the combustion chamber to the other side edge of theopening 45. The opening 45 is thus provided by the unclosed spacesbetween adjacent convolutions, and by relatively large spaces 48 betweenconvolutions resulting from the fact that the inlet and outlet ends 3'Iand 4I! extend tangentially away from the cylindrical formation of thewall structure 35.

The steam and water drum I4 is arranged above and closes the top of thecombustion chamber. While the drum I4 may be constructed in any suitablemanner in so far as the broader aspects of my invention are concerned, Iprefer that the drum be made of sheet-metal walls welded together toform an integral structure capable of withstanding the internalpressures reached in boilers of the type disclosed. The drum I4comprises a horizontal bottom wall 50 closing the top of the chamber I3,upright side walls 5I, and a top wall 52. The bottom wall 50 is providedwith an outwardly extending flange 53 and a depending flange 54, forpurposes which will presently appear. The drum I4 is formed with alaterally extending portion 55 to which the upper ends of the headers 39and 4I are connected. 'Ille top wall 52 is formed with a steam outletopening 56 in the central portion thereof to which is connected thesteam supply pipe 5l for the steam heating system of the building inwhich the furnace is installed.

The combustion chamber I3 and steam and water drum I4 are advantageouslysupported from the base plate 26. As shown, a plurality of verticalsupporting posts 6U are arranged in the passage I5 and about the wallstructure 35 of the combustion chamber I3, and these posts are suitablysecured at their lower ends by bolts 6I to the upper face oi the baseplate 26. The posts extend upwardly to the drum I4 and are secured attheir upper ends to the flange 53 by bolts 62. The side wall structure35 of the combustion chamber is secured to the posts by means of aplurality of bolts 54 and spacers 65 encircling the bolts. The bolts 64extend through aligned openings in the posts 60 and in the steel bari-ds4l and the spacers 65 are arranged between the posts and bands. Thus,the bolts 64 and spacers 65 serve as a means for clamping the closurebands in their proper position between adjacent convoutions of the coils36, as well as a means for securing the Wall structure 35 in supportingrelation with respect to the posts 66.

At the lower end of the combustion chamber I3, the coils are properlypositioned with respect to the opening 25 by an vupstanding flange IIIformed integral with the base plate 26 and extending symmetrically aboutthe vertical axis of thc furnace lil just inside of the coils. The ange'I5 does not extend entirely about the vertical axis of the furnace; butterminates at the sidesoi the opening 45 so as not to interfere with theoutflow oi gases from the chamber I 3. Likewise, the ange 54 dependingfrom the flange 53 of the bottom wall 50 o1` the steam and water drumi4, extends about the vertical axis of the furnace except at the opening45 and serves to position properly the uppermost coil 36 of thecombustion chamber I3 with respect to the drum i4 and the headers 39 and4I.

spaced outwardly from the side wall structure 35 of the combustionchamber I3, and from the side walls 5I of the steam and water drum I4 isa wall member 'I5 which extends symmetrically about the vertical axis ofthe furnace I0 and deiines with the outer surface of the wall structure35 and the wall 5I of the drum I4, the passages I5 and I6. The passagesI5 and I5 are open at each end. The passage S5 communicates at one endwith the gas-exit opening 45 of the combustion chamber and extendsalmost entirely around the outside of the combustion chamber, as shownin Fig. 3. The bottom of the passage I5 is dened by peripheral portionsof the base plate 26 and the top of the passage I5 is dened by plates I6extending horizontally and between the ange 53 of the wall 50 and thewall 15. Angle brackets 'Il support the edges of the plates 'I6 at thewall "l5, A vertical partition plate 'I8 extending from the wall 'I5 tothe outer surface of the wall structure 35 and suitably secured to thelatter serves as a means for separating the ends of the passage I5.

The passage I5 is connected at one end through an opening 19, providedby the arrangement of the horizontal partition plates l5, to the end ofjso gua

, reachingthe outlet I1.

'compact and eiiicient.

and 4I are respectively connected. The top of the passage I6 is closedby a top wall member 82 extending horizontally across the interior ofthe furnace and supported at its periphery by the wall member I5.

In so far as the broader aspects of my invention are concerned, the sidewall member 'I5 and the partition plates 'I6 may be formed of anysuitable material. However, in the preferred embodiment shown, thesewall members are formed of heatresistant steel., 'Ihe side wall member'I5 and the top wall member 82 are spaced inwardly from the enclosingjacket II and the spaces between the outer surfaces of these Wallmembers and the enclosing jacket are preferably filled with a heatinsulating material indicated at 84. The material 8,4 may be of any ofthe well known types ony the market capable of effectively retaining theheat within the furnace. The top wall member 82 and the top wall of thejacket I I with the insulating material 34 therebetween may beconstructed as a removable cover unit so as to facilitate inspection andcleaning. The plates 'I6 may also be removed for cleaning after thecover unit is removed. f

From the above, it is apparent that I have provided a boiler of theflash type which is highly The ratio of weight to capacity in the boilerdisclosed is extremely low when compared with conventional types ofboil- .ersand the time required to reach a normal opter capacity of theIdrum I4, the boiler is well adapted for the installation of a hot tapwater heating coil. A coil 3l of the hair pin type may be readily placedinfthe drum I4 and connected to the conventional hot water storage tank(not shown).

lDue to the particular construction and arrangement of the combustionchamber I3,drum I4, gas passages I5 and I5, and the wall member 15, thehot vgases of combustion contact an unusually large area of water filledheat absorbing wall surfaces. 'Ihe combustion gases, after contactingthe inner surfaces of the coils 36 and the bottom wall E of the drum I4,ow out of the combustion chamber and contact the headers 39 and 4I inthe passage I5. The gases then pass completely around the combustionchamber and contact lthe outer sides of the tubes 36. The gases thenflow upwardly into the passage I6 where they pass almost entirely aroundthe drum I4 and contact the side walls `5I thereof before Thisconstruction and arrangement results in the maximum amount of heat inthe gases being given up to the water in the boiler and a low stacktemperature of the combustion gases. Furthermore, due to the novelconstruction and arrangement of the relatively small metal tubes 36, ahigh rate of heat transfer is had between the combustion gases and thewater in the boiler. As the wall structure of the combustion chamber isformed by pipe coils, the

amount of water subjected to the fire is relatively low, yet the wateris spread over a llarge area.

l Consequently, the boiler can be quickly brought to normal steamingWithin a relatively short period of time. However, even though the tubestructure contains a relatively small amount of water, the boiler isdecidedly safe to operate on account of the relatively large water spacein the drum I4.

A further feature which makes possible quick steaming and efficient heattransfer is the steel wall member 75. As the latter is backed by theheat` insulating material 84, relatively little heat is lost to thesurrounding atmosphere. Therefore, heat absorbed from the gases flowingthrough the passages I5 and I6 is radiated back to the water in theboiler. 'Ihis ow of heat from the wall I5 by radiation may be increasedby providing an inner dark surface.

Thorough circulation of water between the tubes and drum I4 is hadbecause I have pro-y vided a plurality of tubes and because the ends ofeach of the tubes are connected directly to the headers 39 and 4I. Asthe tubes slope upward there is no problem of water circulation and oftransmission of the steam bubbles as soon as they are formed to therelatively large capacity drum I4. This latter makes the boiler safe tooperate and gives a steady and even supply of steam to the pipe 51.

It is to be noted that while I have shown and described a boiler furnacewhich operates efciently to generate steam for heating building spaces,the present invention in all of its aspects is not to be considered asbeing so limited, because the structure disclosed is also well adaptedfor use as a hot water boiler, in a manner which will be apparent tothose skilled in the art.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis as follows: V

1. In a boiler, the combination of means defining an upright combustionchamber having a gas-exit opening in one sideand comprising a pluralityof superposed spaced pipe coils arranged substantially symmetrical abouta vertical axis,

and means for closing the spaces between coils to provide with the coilsa continuous wall surface except at. the gas-exit opening; wall meansdefining a steam and water space above said coils; and water circulatingmeans communicatively connecting said coils and said space.

' 2. In a boiler, the combination of means defining an uprightcombustion chamber having a gas-exit opening in one side and comprisinga plurality of superposed spaced pipe coils arranged substantiallysymmetrical about a vertical axis, and means for closing the spacesbetween coils to provide with the coils a continuous wall surface exceptat the gas-exit opening; wall means defining a steam and water spaceabove said coils, and uptake and downtake headers depending from saidsteam and water space and connected, respectively.' to the opposite endsof said pip coils.

3. Ina boiler, Athe combination of means deu ning an upright combustionchamber having a gas-exit opening in one side and comprising a pluralityof helically wound pipe coils arranged onel above the other and about asubstantially vertical axis with adjacent convolutions spaced slightlyfrom one another, and means for closing the spaces between adjacentconvolutions to provide a continuous wall surface except at the gasexitopening; wall means dening a steam and water space above said coils; andwater circulatlili ing means communicatively connecting said coils andsaid steam and water space.

4. In a boiler, the combination of means dening an upright combustionchamber having a `gas-exit opening in one side and comprising aplurality of superposed spaced pipe coils arranged one above the otherand substantially symmetrical about a vertical axis, and means forclosing the spaces between coils to provide a continuous wall surfaceexcept at the gas-exit opening; wall means dening a steam and waterspace above said coils; water circulating means communicativelyconnecting said space and said coils; wall means spaced outwardly fromsaid coils to provide therewith a gas passage surrounding at leastpartially said coils and connected at one end to said gas-exit openingand having an outlet end circumferentially spaced from said gas-exitopening; said last-named wall means having a gas outlet openingconnected to the outlet end of said passage.

5. In a boiler, the combination of means dening an upright combustionchamber having a gas-exit opening in one side and comprising a pluralityof helically wound pipe coils arranged one above the other and about asubstantially vertical axis with adjacent convolutions spaced slightlyfrom one another, and means for closing the spaces between adjacentconvolutions to provide a continuous wall surface except at the gasexitopening; wall means defining a steam and water drum closing the top ofsaid combustion chamber; wall means spaced outwardly from said coils todenne an open-ended gas passage connected at one end to saidvgas-exitopening; uptake and down-take headers arranged in said gas passageadjacent said gas-exit opening and connected at their upper ends to saiddrum; means for connecting the uptake header to the upper ends of saidcoils and the downtake header to the lower ends of said coils.

6. In a boiler, the combination of means dening a combustion chamberhaving a gas-exit opening in one side and comprising a plurality ofsuperposed helically wound pipe coils arranged with the convolutions ofthe coils in overlying relation and forming a substantially verticalcylinder; each of said coils having lower and upper end portionsextending outwardly therefrom at points adjacent said opening; downtakeand uptake headers arranged in adjacent relation outside of saidcombustion chamber at said gasexit opening and connected, respectively,to said lower and upper ends; means for closing the spaces betweenadjacent convolutions except between the points where the upper andlower ends leave the cylindrical formation so that the spaces betweenconvolutions left by the outwardly extending ends form the gas-exitopening; and wall means dening a steam and water space communicativelyconnected to said uptake and downtake headers.

7. A boiler comprising an inner wall structure defining an uprightcylindrical combustion chamber closed across its top, having a firingopening in its bottom, and having a gas-exit opening in an upright sidethereof, and the inside surfaces of said combustion chamber being formedcontinnous except for said firing opening and said gasexit opening so asto provide for the out flow of combustion gases only through saidgas-exit opening; said wall structure being formed with hollow interiorwater spaces surrounding the sides of said chamber and With a hollowinterior water and steamspace over the top of said chamber; an outercylindrical wall structure enclosing said inner wall structure andspaced from the latter to define therebetween an annula` space; wallmeans arranged across and closing said space vertically at one side ofsaid gas-exit opening to provide in said space an annular passage foriiue gases having an inlet end communicating with said gas-exit openingand an outlet end circumferentially spaced from said inlet end.

8. A boiler comprising an inner wall structure dening an uprightcylindrical combustion charnber closed across its top, having a firingopening in its bottom, and having a gas-exit opening in an upright sidethereof, and the inside surfaces of said combustion chamber being formedcontinuous except for said ring opening and said gas-exit opening so asto provide for the out flow of combustion gases only through saidgas-exit opening; said wall structure being formed with hollow interiorwater spaces surrounding the sides of said chamber and with a hollowinterior water and steam space over the top of said chamber; an outercylindrical wall structure enclosing said inner wall structure andspaced from the latter to dene therebetween an annular space; a. rstpartition wall means arranged across said space above said gas-exitopening to divide said space horizontally into lower and upper gasspaces; a second partition wall means arranged across said lower gasspace at one side of said gas-exit opening to provide in said lower gasspace a rst annular gas passage having an inlet end communicating withsaid gas-exit opening and an outlet end circumferentially spaced fromits inlet end and communicating with said upper gas space; a thirdpartition wall means ar- ,I ranged across said upper gas space at oneside of the outlet end of said rst annular passage to provide in saidupper gas space a second annular gas passage having an inlet endcommunicating with the outlet end of said rst annular gas passage andhaving an outlet end circumferentially spaced from its inlet end.

9. A boiler comprising a supporting base plate; means definingaccmbustion chamber' arranged above said plate and comprising aplurality of helically wound pipe coils disposed one above the other andabout an upright axis: a steam and water drum above said coils; watercirculating conduits communicatively connecting said coils and saiddrum; a plurality of upright supporting posts arranged about said coilsand supported at their lower ends by said plate and supporting said drumby their upper ends; and means securing said coils to the sides of saidposts so that the posts also support the coils from said plate andmaintain the coils in their proper relative position with respect to oneanother.

BERNARD GOERG.

